The Life of the First Mate
by Sketcher1994
Summary: Roronoa Zoro has a duty to protect the whole crew, but of course that stops him from having a relationship – at least with the woman he loves! Lucky for him, his 'rivals' Ero-cook and the Surgeon of Death are true friends there to both help and hinder him. Yaoi warning! Pairings include ZoSa, ZoLa, LaRo, LaSa, SaNa, LuHa, and of course Zorobin! Including LawxOC later in the story.
1. Chapter 1 - The Spare Room

**AN: I do not own One Piece!**

**Here's my multi-chapter One Piece story! If you've read 'Quiet Afternoons' then you'll have a rough idea of the internal battle within Zoro :) You can read this without reading my one-shot first! I may get round to writing a shorter, ****_cuter_**** follow up to 'Quiet Afternoons', like I said, it wasn't initially supposed to be a prequel, it just worked well! This does have cute/funny moments too :D**

**Two warnings here:**

**1. Yaoi from the very start, yip the ****_very_**** start. It does get, ehem, stronger. The first chapter basically introduces the future yaoi while bringing up the relationship problems within the ship's crew.**

**2. This story gets pretty long, it's actually still on-going. There is a point where you may decide you want to stop because you've reached your 'ideal happy ending', but the story continues passed that and continues through 'life' – I won't be offended if you stop but I will be ecstatic if you continue to read and especially if you comment! Comments can be both helpful and encouraging to writers! ^_^ **

**So, hope you enjoy my story! My ANs won't be as long in future :D Sorry if you don't like yaoi; you have been warned! ;P Oh, and I'll try to post sketches of various characters on Tumblr (sketcher1994 if you wanna have a nose); I may attempt to draw some scenes! I haven't tried to yet so the scenes may be terrible but hopefully I can get the characters to come out like I want them! I actually drew the cover photo for this XD it's my first attempt at drawing One Piece characters (bar Luffy's head which I drew because I was bored about a year ago and was worried I'd draw a terrible Zoro!) , but I think they came out ok :D So, the long awaited Chapter One!**

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><p><strong>Chapter One – The Spare Room<strong>

"What do you want, Marimo?" Sanji grumbled into the mirror.

Zoro stood in the bathroom doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms folded, a few feet behind where Sanji stood, his eye scanning every tempting inch of the tall, lean frame of his handsome blonde crewmate, standing shirtless with his back to Zoro by the sink as he towelled his soft hair dry. Zoro silently stepped forward, not bothering to answer the Cook's question as he closed the gap between them, and wrapped his strong, muscular arms around Sanji's exposed waist. He tilted his head forward, parting his lips slightly, and tugged gently on the cook's ear with his teeth, earning a small whimper from the other man.

"You." He breathed huskily into Sanji's ear, sending shivers down the Cook's spine while he stood wrapped in the swordsman's arms, not even bother trying to pull away from him.

"No, Marimo. We'd get caught if we tried anything in here, and Law arrives later so we can't even use the spare room, so don't bother trying to start something we can't finish. You'd only make things worse. Has the room even been made up for him yet?" Sanji asked, successfully sounding irritated at the muscular green haired man.

"No, Nami sent me to find Robin to ask her to do it; the damn woman's power's handy for that stuff. I came in here to ask _you_ to ask her, Ero-Cook," he sighed into Sanji's shoulder, kissing it lightly, his large arms still wrapped deceptively tight around Sanji's waist.

"Still can't face her, Marimo? You know, she's not _really_ going to snap you in half for liking her, right? And anyway, if she does _actually_ like you too, then you can finally get off my back," Sanji teased, and received a very rewarding set of pink-tinged cheeks from the swordsman before he could hide his blush at the mention of 'liking' the older woman.

"I thought you liked having me on your back?!" He teased back, grinding his hips lightly against Sanji, causing the Cook to falter slightly, as Zoro tried to avoid the subject of their black haired female crew member.

"Well, I'd rather spend some wonderful _romantic_ time with my Nami-swan, but rules are rules. It's always best to stick to the basics; 'no romantic attachments, it could put the crew in danger'." They could both hear Nami's voice in their heads as he repeated her straightforward, stern words that she'd directed towards the whole of the Strawhat crew a few months back.

She'd persuaded Luffy that some basic rules were necessary if they were all going to live together on the ship after two long years apart, and Luffy being Luffy just agreed with what she said, thinking that things like 'romance' were unnecessary as long as they could still fight and go on adventures together. Nami had even went so far as to point out to him that if a romantic attachment went wrong, then there could be serious arguing amongst the crew and someone may decide to leave. That set Luffy off of course, checking that no one wanted to leave the crew because 'they were all Nakama and they were on an adventure together' – much to the confusion of everyone since no-one had even considered leaving since finally getting back together after their two years apart to train.

That was why the First Mate and the Cook had arranged a little 'non-romantic' way to get out some of their 'frustrations'. A good fight usually knocked it all out of their overpowered systems, but when they were out at sea for weeks on end, they couldn't exactly let loose without damaging the Sunny, unless some poor passerby decided to challenge them; just to end up shipwrecked and lost at sea, lucky to even have their lives of course. That was happening less and less as the other pirates in the new world guarded their own territory on both land and sea, which meant the Strawhats had to find them instead of them being found by chance as they searched the islands for adventures. This meant no outlet for their frustrations. Sadly though, their 'crushes' – for lack of a better word – were also onboard the ship, unlike Usoppe's 'crush' who was safely tucked away in a mansion in the East Blue, and Luffy still showed no interest – male or female – as far as they were aware.

"Yeah, yeah, not like you'd manage to get Nami anyway, don't know what you're complaining about. That girl would rip your head off for trying anything – she already gets annoyed at your swooning unless she actually wants something. She's got you wrapped around her little finger; she's completely heartless, Ero-Cook," Zoro grumbled as he released Sanji and moved to walk out of the bathroom, now more frustrated than he had even realised he had been before looking for the stupid cook.

"I fail to see your point, Marimo. Nami-swan is perfect, but you couldn't even approach Robin-chwan, even if you were allowed!" Sanji responded, almost yelling back at his retreating form.

"Whatever, Ero-Cook – just don't try anything; you know that only means more hassle for me since _I'm_ the one that has to damn well work it out!" He shut the door with a bang for effect on his way out.

Zoro released a quiet grunt of agitation as he made his way down onto the lawn deck before hesitantly entering the lower levels of the ship. He couldn't just go ask her to get the spare room ready for Law; he'd just have to do it himself. He let out a sigh of irritation – why should he have to do it? He had better things to do, like nap or train. If stupid Ero-Cook had just asked Robin to do this for him, or better yet, Nami could have just asked the damn woman herself, then he wouldn't be walking roughly towards the spare room to make a bed for the damn surgeon. Even if he had saved Luffy's life a few years back, why should he get a special room? Why couldn't he just sleep in the men's quarters with the other guys?!

"Zoro-san?" His head instantly emptied as he registered the tall, dark haired woman standing in the middle of corridor, directly in front of him.

She smiled at him with a slightly confused expression. That wasn't exactly surprising; the only time he went into the ship itself was to go to his bed in the men's rooms, and he didn't even use that particularly often. He couldn't even remember which one was his for that matter. He was usually the one on night watch and he'd just spend his day napping on deck after a nice, long night of training, mostly, on his own. The lawn had been a nice little touch though; it was actually pretty comfy, although he was perfectly capable of sleeping anywhere, as proved on many occasions, usually much to the damn woman's amusement. He tried to collect his thoughts as she stared at him, patiently waiting for an answer.

"Law is arriving later to check in. He's staying with us for a couple of days so the spare room needs set up; I was just coming down to deal with it." He inwardly sighed in relief that he'd managed his usual serious tone.

"Would you like some help, Zoro-san?" She smiled, turning to walk along to corridor towards the spare room, glancing back over her shoulder to see if he was still behind her, "Nami-san normally asks me; why did she send you?"

He looked away from her, avoiding her question as he walked along the corridor, close behind her. He could feel a slight warmth to his cheeks and knew she'd gotten to him again, just like she always did. She probably even knew that he was supposed to ask her to do it, but hopefully she didn't know _why _he'd decided to just do it himself. He followed her to the spare room and stood in awe as she elegantly crossed her arms upwards in front of her ample chest, her multiple slender arms simultaneously appearing in the room to put a clean sheet on the cabin bed, fluff the pillows and lay out the nicely folded clean blanket neatly in the centre of the mattress. It would have taken him at least half an hour but she'd done it in less than five minutes. Zoro stood with his jaw hanging slack as he stood, completely unneeded, in the doorway.

"Zoro-kun?" He snapped back to reality and stared back at her, wondering why she was giggling while she stared at him.

"Huh? What's so funny?" He grumpily turned away from her, getting ready to leave. She was laughing at him again!

"You were staring, Zoro-kun. Are you ok?" He froze...did she just say 'kun'? She always added 'san' to everyone's names, including his...he must have imagined it.

"Fine. I was just impressed by how quickly you managed that." He said in his usual tone, nothing wrong with giving credit where credit was due he guessed.

"Thank you, Zoro-kun," she replied, walking up to him and placing a hand gently on his chin to stop him from turning away from her.

He was trapped. She'd worked out that he had started avoiding her, and now she was using 'kun' to make him feel special just to try to find out why. Damn woman! She was even attempting to hold him here. He glanced at her out the corner of his eye, making it very clear that he was still wary of her. He wasn't really, and she knew it – they'd been together on too many adventures for that – but now he had a different reason to be wary of her. It hadn't been until after his battle against Kaku that he'd really started to think about how he felt about her; she'd just seemed like another one of his Nakama until he'd found himself talking to Ero-Cook after they'd set sail on the Sunny for the first time. There had always been something different about her. If she realised how frustrated she made him, god knows what she'd do. Being First Mate, he couldn't afford to have problems with her.

She kissed him on the cheek, earning a full-faced blush and incomprehensible spluttering as he was forced out of his thoughts, before letting him go and walking along the corridor towards the deck, giggling the whole way.

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><p><strong>Hehe, hope you enjoyed this first chapter! :D I'm creating a 'hashtag' on Tumblr for sketches and I'm <strong>**_planning_**** to give you a sketch with every chapter :) I actually have a one-shot for next week, so it might be a couple of weeks before you get chapter two :P I'm trying to work on some more Zorobin and Gajevy as requested, but with every one-shot written there's another week before you get another update of this! I'm already posting twice a week, and I have enough other chapters for stories for Thursdays to last a while, but after Chr*stm*s that does mean you could be getting two chapters a week! ;D If you feel like doing some sketches for this, feel free to! I'd love to see them! XD I just ask that you give them the 'hashtag' for this so that I can see them! :D **

**Chapter One's Sketch – Cover Photo**

**(#TheLifeoftheFirstMate)**


	2. Chapter 2 - Law's Arrival

**AN: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda**

**Hey! I'm back, and I come baring the gift of chapter two! ;D Sorry this is late! Warning for this chapter though – ****_EXTREME YAOI!_**** If you do not wish to read the 'extreme yaoi' but wish to continue with the story, it does work even with skipping the extreme bit as it is referred to during the next chapter so you won't have missed much! If you read until the '*' then you should be fine, then just look for the next '*' to continue reading! ^_^ Promise this becomes a 'sensible' story later! ^_^ **(Thanks and responses are at the bottom! Thanks! XD )

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><p><strong>Chapter Two – Law's Arrival<strong>

He quietly sat with his back leant against the wooden side on the top deck of the Thousand Sunny with his eye closed. He'd been trying to nap for the past three hours but still was getting nowhere. All Zoro could think about was Robin. The damn woman had done that on purpose! She knew that would get to him – she'd known kissing him like that would embarrass him! And what was with the stupid 'kun' she'd kept adding to his name all of a sudden?! She'd even had the nerve to sit down next to him with her latest history book only half an hour later, greeting him with 'hello again, Zoro-san' before sticking her nose into her damn book – not saying a single damn word about her earlier behaviour. She'd calmly moved back down onto the lawn deck to her little table once Ero-Cook had appeared with the 'ladies' snacks' only an hour later.

Damn Ero-Cook.

Unfortunately, to make matters worse, Trafalgar Law had appeared in the last hour and hadn't even bothered coming up to speak to him. He had just walked onto the ship, dealt with the pleasantries concerning the rest of the crew, and settled down next to Robin at her small white table with some tea. He was still chatting happily with her. There was no way Zoro was letting him get away with that, not that there was anything he could do without being teased by damn Ero-Cook later! Hell, if he walked across there now he'd just end up even more frustrated. They'd just start playing their stupid mind games with him again until he got annoyed, which always ended with them laughing at him as he stormed off to train. More annoyingly for Zoro though, Law must be looking for Robin's company for the night. It wasn't unusual for him to suggest to her to join him, but she always said no...well, as far as Zoro was aware anyway; he _hoped_ Law wasn't 'successfully' playing with her, she was _his_ Nakama. Other times though, Law would of course seek out Zoro or Ero-Cook, and today, Zoro was starting to need the damn company. Being alone on a ship full of people all the time did cause problems.

"Get rejected?" He could sense the other man hovering near him, even with his eye closed, "I ain't stepping in."

"Zoro-ya, I merely said hello and discussed her new book that she's reading, nothing more – you don't need to start getting jealous. Besides, I gave up on her months ago; she has eyes for someone else. I'm not looking for anything serious with anyone anyway, and she's a serious woman, but then again, with Nami-ya's little rules, you aren't looking for anything serious either, _are you_, Zoro-ya? Of course, judging by the fact that I'll be occupying the guest room for a few days, Sanji-ya won't be saying yes to you tonight, and I know you haven't seen land in over three weeks. That's why I came – I know you're a damn caveman." How he managed to say all that while keeping his usual serious poker face as he'd sat down, Zoro would never know; Law was still a mystery to him.

Zoro shivered slightly as Law teasingly slowly ran the index finger of his hand that contained his katana up the outside of Zoro's now tensed thigh, a sly smirk on his face. If it hadn't been for the katana in Law's hand, the crew would have wondered what he'd just done, but due to the katana's presence, it just looked to the rest of the crew like he was admiring his own katana and talking to their First Mate about it. Zoro glanced down at his own katanas. He could easily overpower Law to make him leave him alone, he was certainly strong enough, but he'd just use his damn ability and then the crew would just start asking the two of them 'complicated' questions. Zoro couldn't exactly just say 'he made a pass at me', they'd already messed around a few times before and he'd even made a pass at Sanji himself earlier today; even if they hadn't done anything in the bathroom today, it could still be used against him. He grunted and closed his eye again, giving Law the cue to either make himself comfy or go bother someone else; he'd see him later.

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><p>Zoro tapped quietly on the door. Everyone else was asleep in their beds and now was finally his chance to relieve himself a little. Law obviously got a kick out of it too, or he wouldn't be the one always suggesting it. Zoro had asked him once why he'd decided to approach him about a hook up, and had been very surprised at the Surgeon's simple answer. Apparently his hair colour was identical to someone Law knew, and after he'd seen 'the cook' sneaking out of the crow's nest one night when he'd been settled out on the lawn deck, he'd decided it was worth a try. Of course, who would suspect the two of them of something as innocent as talking alone in the crow's nest in the middle of the night? Of course Zoro would have been having sex with Ero-Cook after everyone had gone to bed; it was such an obvious conclusion. Maybe Ero-Cook even had some sort of weird hidden fetish for green haired men climbing on top of him, since he's normally such a womaniser!? In Law's particular case, however, apparently this other green haired person preferred <em>him<em> on top.

Zoro definitely wasn't trying _that_.

He opened the door; the idiot hadn't answered for some reason. Was he pretending to sleep in case it wasn't Zoro knocking on his door? He silently walked across the wooden floor of the small room, a strange sense of déjà vu causing him to expect to be turned away for a second time today. He silently slipped off his long dark green tunic, allowing it to drop to the floor around his feet, revealing a muscular, scarred torso. He loosened the waist of his trousers, allowing them to join his tunic, and slid carefully into the raised cabin bed, being met by the soft, warm back of a completely naked male body under the rough blanket. **(*)**

"I was starting to think you'd forgotten, Zoro-ya," Zoro could hear the smirk in his companion's voice and returned with his own.

"A little lonely without me, were we? I had to wait on everyone else falling asleep, remember? Robin was enjoying her book a little too much and sat up a little later than normal; I half expected her to come join me in the crow's nest – then you really would have been lonely, wouldn't you?" He replied teasingly, gently coaxing two of his fingers into Law – not that they needed to be gentle anymore.

"Mmm, well...you know, she's maybe...worked out what's...going on, Zo...Zoro-ya," Law gasped as Zoro slowly started to build up momentum with his very capable fingers, and Law's hand quickly made its way behind him to start stroking Zoro's sizable shaft, not wanting to risk ending that wonderful sensation by disappoint the larger man.

Zoro stopped.

What if she does know? Is that what she'd tried to get out of him earlier? Had she thought that that was why he'd decided to make the room up himself? So he could 'set it up' for them? It wasn't as if what she thought he was doing mattered anyway; she wouldn't be interested in him, and it wasn't as if anything could happen between them anyway with Nami's damn rule if she did. He was the First Mate. He had responsibilities. He had to protect the crew and follow the rules, making sure that the rest of the crew followed them as well. He heard Law's mumbled complaints and suddenly realised he'd stopped his actions. He could feel Law's hand still moving up and down his increasingly hardening dick as Law rubbed the hot seeping thick liquid up and down the thick shaft to act as their lubricant. He removed his own fingers, receiving even more complaints from Law, before removing Law's hand from himself and slamming himself hard into the other man's ass.

Law instantly called out and Zoro covered his mouth with his hand, cursing. They listened silently for a few minutes before he started moving again, kissing and sucking on Law's soft neck as he rammed himself in and out. Law's hands had started on himself before stopping Zoro a few minutes later, just before either of them could reach their first high. He proved how flexible his tall, lean body was as he shifted their position, never letting Zoro out of his ass; the bastard would happily walk away at this point just to get revenge for his little finger stunt before. They were now chest to chest, and Law ran his hands down Zoro's giant scar gently before sliding his hands teasingly back up Zoro's muscular chest and around the back of his head, pulling the muscular man forward into a passionate kiss.

He licked the other man's bottom lip caressingly before he slipped his tongue into the other swordsman's mouth, before finally allowing the rough bastard to take over again. Zoro violently dominated Law's mouth with his own tongue before restarting his powerful thrusting movements. Law moaned wantonly into Zoro's mouth with every deeply penetrating thrust, his hands travelling between pulling Zoro's hair and caressing to top of his perfectly moulded back, trying to get Zoro impossibly closer, hungry for the intense sensation he knew the huge swordsman could give him, his companion all too willing to give him what he craved so fiercely. It was moments like this that Zoro enjoyed. He didn't care if anyone thought he was gay, he loved these moments when he could release all his tension and frustration in moments of pure passion – it was almost as satisfying as a good fight!

**(*) **A giggle echoed through the room, and the two men stopped instantly.

"It's not what it looks like!" He spat out, breaking their impassioned kiss as he worried about what _she'd_ think of him.

She'd just caught him in having _very_ passionate sex with their ally, the Surgeon of Death himself, an ex-member of the damn Shichibukai...who was, in fact, a _man_. The older woman he had a stupid, childish crush on, had just found him in bed with a man, as in passionately kissing another guy while he rammed himself into said other guy...things just couldn't get worse. Well, actually she _had_ just laughed at him when she caught him having sex, so he was pretty sure _that_ was the worst part of the whole scenario. How the hell was he going to explain this?!

"What do you mean 'it's not what it looks like'?! It's exactly what it looks like, you idiot! We're two guys having sex, even if we are just using each other; we're _still_ two guys having sex." God damn his stupid 'doctor' indifference, but he had technically just saved him there by mentioning the fact that they were just using each other...even if he'd mentioned _twice_ that they were having sex.

Another womanly giggle escaped her lips.

"I know, damn idiot, I just wasn't expecting anyone to walk in on us!" He growled back; face bright red as yet another giggle left her. Couldn't she do something other than damn giggle?!

"Well, are we going to finish this or are you chickening out? I'm sure Robin-ya would have no problems with either joining us for a little fun or leaving and shutting the door behind her?" He directed the last bit at Robin, and Zoro's face went even redder at both the arousing thought of her joining them, and the embarrassment at the idea that she'd leave just so that the two of them could _continue_. He was glad the room was almost pitch-black and no one could see his increasingly crimson face.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Law-san, Zoro-kun," there was that damn 'kun' again, he thought as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

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><p><strong>So...that...was maybe a little too much...I surprised myself by managing to write that...0:) But yeah, not only is Zoro's summary 'brutish', I just had to proof-read this entire chapter in the middle of the busy uni library – I kept a straight face the whole time, I had to. So, yeah, hope you enjoyed this! Next Sunday's one-shot is a Zorobin, and it's not as graphic as this, in fact it's as laid back as my usual Zorobin fics! ^_^<strong>

**Sketches:**

· **Chapter 1 – Cover Photo**

· **Chapter 2 – Zoro & Robin / Law & Zoro. Both sketches are them on the deck! ^_^ I also wanted Law & Robin at her table but I ran out of time, so again – if anyone would like to do a sketch for this that would be brilliant! ^_^ **

**(#TheLifeoftheFirstMate)**

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><p>Thank you so much for the follows, favourites and reviews! XD<p>

_MegaME,_ hope the Zoro/Law was acceptable! Hope you (and everyone else!) can see the obvious difference in the type of relationship he has with Law in comparison to Sanji ^_^ And don't worry - Zorobin is very much the end game! XD (ZOROBIN FOREVER!) Hope you've been enjoying my other Zorobin fics; I'm posting another next Sunday! ^_^

_'Guest',_ hehe, glad to hear it! XD Hope this passed! ^_^

_Zorobin fan,_ and here is the next update! It may be a two or three weeks until the next for this story, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter ^_^ I do love Robin teasing him! XD She may or may not have some fun with what she's just discovered ;P

_'Guest',_ yeah...this may not have been a good chapter for starting you on your 'yaoi journey', I promise it's not all like that! I hope this hasn't put you off! Zorobin is about to pick up, promise! ^_^

_someone, _I hope this chapter wasn't too unbearable for you! Don't worry, there is only one other yaoi scene later on in the story as extreme as this (with a few small moments), and the rest are 'het' pairing scenes/moments!

_Sheitan, _THANK YOU! I was hoping to get a 'normal', relaxed feel to it, like it would be in real life, rather than 'this happened, led to this' if that makes sense? And thank you 0:) that really means a lot! 0:D but yeah, it _is_ a lot of pairings, _but_ they are more like 'warnings' as to future pairings in the story - it's a very long story...I have 27 chapters for this...0:) so it covers his life (but doesn't include finding One Piece or his obviously future battle against Mihawk - I'm leaving those to Oda-sensei!) and a couple aren't mentioned because until about 15 chapters in, you won't have a clue who they are and won't care in the slightest about them! Hopefully by then you'll actually want to know about them, and there's a point near the end where if I haven't made you care about the OC in relation to Law, then you'll be bored...:P Anyway - hope you continue to enjoy this story! :D


	3. Chapter 3 - Facing Fear

**AN: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda!**

**Hey Minna! Sorry about last week, uni work is a nightmare! Hope you enjoy this chapter! ^_^ Inner conflict, yaoi and a little hint of Zorobin coming right up!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Three – Facing Fear<strong>

Zoro stood looking out the crow's nest; he'd struggled to do much training after he'd left the spare room, an hour after the little interruption that happened about fifteen minutes in. Normally the two of them would lie in the bed for a while, just talking, after they'd finished their fun, but last night after they'd finished he'd just gotten up and left, not even saying a word. If Law had been offended he certainly hadn't said anything, it was almost as if he actually sympathised with him. Maybe it was something to do with the other green haired person? Nah, he could probably just go see that other person whenever he wanted to if he felt like it; he was a Captain.

The person Zoro had been waiting on finally appeared on the lawn deck below him as the sun started to peak over the horizon. The Cook made his way sleepily towards the kitchen, unaware of the single eye of the swordsman following him as he walked. Zoro knew he needed to talk to someone about what happened, and the damn Ero-Cook would be able to find out what was going through the damn woman's head for him with no problem at all...but then again, if _he_ finds out that he and Law had been caught in bed together, the Cook might not want to 'hang out' with him again. Maybe he should just talk to Robin himself? He'd just take his chances with Ero-Cook.

Zoro made his way down from the crow's nest to the lawn deck, checking that no one else was around, before heading to the brightly lit kitchen. He paused in the doorway with his arms folded, watching his tall blonde lover cooking the crew's breakfast. Sanji seemed to tense slightly, before continuing as if he wasn't even aware of Zoro's very obvious presence. Zoro smirked and sauntered lazily across the room, just as he had the previous morning in the bathroom, once more wrapping his thick arms around Sanji's lean waist. Zoro nuzzled the Cooks neck, having seen Sanji's annoyed expression and choosing to ignore it. If it was to do with the fact that he's cooking, then Ero-cook can say something and he'd back off; if it's to do with the fact that Zoro was with Law last night, then he's just being childish and he'll just have to get over it.

"Ero-Cook, something happened last night," he muttered quietly into Sanji's ear, the worry in his voice clear to Sanji, even in his annoyance.

"What? Did you decide that you prefer Law to Robin-chwan? He seems to like her, maybe the three of you can get together for a threesome some night?" Sanji responded snarkily.

"No, but he did suggest that to her last night when she walked in on us!" He snapped back, releasing his grip on the Cook and starting to walk away as a stunned Sanji stood silently, hovering over the breakfast.

"...Robin-chwan...she walked in...on you and Law...? What did...she say exactly? How did she react?!" Sanji questioned as he finally started to find his voice.

"She didn't. She just damn well giggled like she always does, and then continued to laugh at us until she walked out and closed the door behind her...I wish she'd just said _something_, but she didn't say anything at all...at least nothing other than she'd see us today...hell, she's even started calling me 'Zoro-kun', Ero-Cook! What the hell is that damn woman thinking?! I don't know what to do!?" He looked pleadingly at Sanji; he couldn't believe he was asking the damn Ero-Cook for help!

Sanji pulled the pan off of the stove and walked up to the distraught Zoro, wrapping his arms around the other man's thick neck and kissing him gently before resting his forehead against Zoro's. He slid his long, pale fingers into short green hair and started massaging Zoro's head to help him relax. Zoro closed his eye and gave into the wonderful feeling, enjoying every movement of the Cook's talented hands. Soft lips met his own and he returned the kiss gently, replacing his arms around Sanji's waist lazily before opening his eye to look at the man in front of him.

"Talk to her, Marimo. I can't do it for you. I can tell you that she won't be hurt or sad about what she found last night; she's probably more intrigued. Maybe, if you're lucky, she'll even be a little jealous and decide to ignore the rules – you are the First Mate. I know that means that you're the one that has to uphold the rules, but it also means that _you_ can challenge them," he kissed Zoro again and returned back to making breakfast, waiting for Zoro to say something sarcastic or just be plain moody.

"Stupid Ero-cook, I'd forgotten that you'd learned how to calm me down...but you just want me to 'challenge the rules' for your own benefit, not mine. You just want to be with Nami, and you seem to keep forgetting that that rule was her idea. If she wanted to be with you then she wouldn't have made that rule." With that, he turned and stormed out of the kitchen.

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><p>Zoro sat quietly on the lawn deck, resisting the urge to dose as he knew that the second he did, someone would interrupt his peace. He glanced towards Chopper and Law who were discussing some confusing medical stuff while Usoppe sat not too far away from them, working on some technical looking device. It was a calm afternoon and even Luffy was napping, a giant bubble appearing from his nose. Zoro could see the open door to the women's room and knew Nami would be in there working on one of her maps. He could hear Ero-Cook in the kitchen, washing the dishes from the lunch, and Franky was below deck in his workshop; he'd appear sooner or later to show off a new toy, he'd been working down there for days now, only appearing for meals. However, much to Zoro's annoyance, there was an obvious absence. Robin was nowhere to be seen.<p>

He decided to go look for her.

She wasn't up top so she must be down below. Come to think of it, she'd been below deck when he'd accidently found her the previous day. What had she been doing down there anyway? Zoro made his way below deck, focussing on moving towards the sounds of Franky in his workshop. He might have seen her. As much as he hated to admit it, damn Ero-Cook was right. He had to talk to her. Even if it was just to tell her to forget what she saw, he had to talk to her. After a while of passing the same store cupboard (they only had one, he was sure) with no idea how he was managing it, he let out a quiet roar of frustration. His hand met with the handle of one of his katanas. He made to unsheathe his wonderful weapon that allowed him to walk through walls, and was stopped by a giant, cold metal hand.

"Franky! I was looking for you! I need to know if you have any idea where Robin is? I need to talk to her about something." He grinned at himself, glad he'd achieved at least part of his goal.

"Oi, oi! No need to start cutting up the Sunny! She's in there with Brooke – she found a music sheet in one of her books and some of its faded so they've been working on recreating it." He said, pointing at a door only two meters from where they were standing – the room Zoro had been about to cut a hole into.

"Thanks, Franky. What have you been up to down here anyway?" He asked cheerfully, looking up at the huge cyborg.

"Not telling! It's a SUPER surprise for Luffy!" The swordsman just grinned and shook his head, casually walking towards what he thought was the door that Franky had just pointed to, only to be shoved into the one next to it by the cyborg.

"Zoro-san?"

He suddenly remembered why he'd been going into this room in the first place and a slight tinge appeared on his cheeks. He looked at the woman sitting in a comfy armchair while the skeleton man stood beside her, violin in hand. They had clearly just been discussing the piece of paper in the woman's hand that was held up between them, not attached to any woman but to the arm of the chair, while Robin herself seemed to be in mid-point, her eyes now looking back at the stunned swordsman. He pulled his thoughts back and righted himself from his stumbled position, puffing himself up while he folded his arms boldly against his chest.

"Robin, I need to talk to you."

His words came out harsh and serious, and _very_ demanding; clearly aimed at reminding the woman in front of him of his position on the ship. He hated when he had to use his 'First Mate' status, but she had walked in on him having sex with Law last night and then proceeded to laugh at the two of them as she'd left the room. She'd had no reason to be walking around the ship in the dark, and why on earth had she decided she could just walk into the spare room when she knew it was occupied by Law? ...Occupied by Law? Maybe Law _had_ suggested things to her and she'd changed her mind? Shit. He needed to focus; he had to demand an explanation, and potentially defend his actions.

"Brooke, why don't you go ask Nami-san for more ink?" She smiled up at the skeleton man who nodded, looking between his two crewmates before he made his way out of the room and shut the door quietly on his way out.

"Why were you walking around last night after everyone else was asleep?"

Start simple.

"I was looking for you, Zoro-kun; I was reading an interesting book that I couldn't stop thinking about, so I decided to come look for you since I couldn't sleep. When I didn't find you in the crow's nest, I had decided to check the kitchen and was on my way there when I heard a shout from below deck. I decided to go investigate; I hadn't expected to come across you and Law-san, Zoro-kun." She giggled and Zoro mentally face palmed.

He'd noticed that she'd clearly been enjoying her book, so of course she wouldn't be able to sleep. Whenever she couldn't sleep, she'd always come join him in the crow's nest. He'd been so stupid! And of course she'd come to investigate shouting when everyone was supposed to be asleep, she was a curious person. He silently cursed himself for not having silenced Law _before_ he could make a noise. Usually he remembered, but the one time he'd forgotten was the one damn time that Robin had been walking around on the ship.

"Yeah, well, we weren't exactly expecting anyone to be awake. The damn idiot can't keep quiet; it's the only time he really makes any damn noise! But why did you just walk into the room? You knew that Law should have been asleep, so why would you just walk into a bedroom when a man was asleep in his own bed?" Perfect, didn't deny that she was right while still turning it on her. Maybe he could survive this?

"If Law-san had been asleep then he wouldn't have shouted. I just wanted to know _why _he had shouted. You're reaction was very cute though, Zoro-kun," she stated with her womanly giggle.

He flushed, remembering his response, and to top it off she was laughing at him again! Not only that, but that was the third time she'd used that damn 'kun'; she'd started off with 'san' when he'd walked in. Maybe it was because he'd tried to pull the 'First Mate' thing on her? He inwardly shrugged, trying to rid himself of his frustration. He was just as confused as ever about her. To add to this, she'd technically answered the necessary questions...and she'd just treated him like a little boy by laughing at him and calling him cute...and he had no comeback.

"Hmph, you took me by surprise, that's all. Just forget what you saw, it didn't mean anything – just a little stress relief, nothing more." He turned and left the room without looking back.

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><p><strong>Hope you liked it! ^_^ You don't have long to wait until the next chapter this time – you're getting it tomorrow! ^_^ Thanks for all the reviews, favourite and follows! Today's sketch isn't ready yet – been really busy, sorry! I'll try to get it done and up by 5pm, but if I don't manage it, I'll definitely get it up by 5pm Wednesday (even if I have to get up ridiculously early!)<strong>

**Sketches:**

· **Chapter 1 – Cover Photo**

· **Chapter 2 – Zoro & Robin / Law & Zoro. Both sketches are them on the deck!**

· **Chapter 3 – Robin & Brooke ^_^**

**(#TheLifeoftheFirstMate)**


	4. Chapter 4 - Damn Women

**AN: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda XD**

**Well, happy birthday to our beloved swordsman! XD Hope you liked the last chapter, but to find out what Zoro's getting from me today, you'll just have to read on! ;P**

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><p><strong>Chapter Four – Damn Women<strong>

Nine hundred and ninety-eight.

Nine hundred and ninety-nine.

One thousand.

He effortlessly tossed the two tonne weights that he held on his back with his right hand into the air, lifted his legs into the air from his push up position into a two-handed handstand, catching the weights again with his feet before proceeding with vertical-bodied push ups. He'd felt better for talking to Robin, at least he'd explained himself, and she'd even made it clear that she just thought of him like a cute _boy_, nothing more. Maybe now he could get over his stupid crush, now that he knew she'd never see him as a man, never mind a lover. There was no point in hoping for more; he was First Mate anyway. He grunted, not from the effort of his vertical push ups, but from the fact that Law had clearly approached Ero-Cook earlier, and neither had said anything to him since he'd last seen either of them. Granted he'd left Law naked and alone on the bed in complete darkness after using him, and he'd stormed out of the kitchen after rubbing Nami's cruelty into Ero-Cook's face after Ero-Cook had just tried to comfort him. He really needed to be more careful about how he acted towards the others.

Zoro heard the trap door behind him open. He continued with his training, waiting for the person to make themselves known. He knew it was someone from the ship since he hadn't sensed anyone board the ship, and judging by the 'aura' from them it was either Robin or an angry Nami. He wasn't really expecting Robin considering their earlier conversation, so he waited for the initial blow and the start of Nami's furious shouting. Maybe Ero-Cook or Robin had told her about his behaviour today, or Franky for that matter – he had been about to cut a hole in one of the internal walls of the Sunny. Of course, Brooke may have said something to her when he'd 'gone for ink', in which case she could be here for an interrogation which would explain why he hadn't been hit in the last two minutes since the trap door had opened. It clicked shut and heels could be heard moving towards him. He braced himself.

Robin walked right passed him and settled on the bench in front of him, her nose buried in her book.

"Robin?"

She looked up from her book and smiled at him before a concerned expression crossed her face. It was normal for her to come join him with her book. It was normal for her to sit for a few hours without saying a single word to him, not even a hello; but not once when she'd visited him on night watch had she looked _concerned_ while she sat looking at him while he trained. He mentally pictured himself at that particular moment, trying to work out what could have caused her to frown. Coming up empty, he decided to satisfy his peaked curiosity, knowing full well he would most likely regret it.

"What? I'm just training." He watched her face, waiting for a response.

"Zoro-kun, don't you normally only use one hand?" Zoro almost fell to the floor, only just managing to regain his momentarily lost balance in time to stop the weights from rolling off of his feet.

Robin let out a giggle, both at the sight of his surprise and his blush. She closed her book and used her power to help him, steadying the weights again before he continued his training with a very red face. She loved when she got to see him embarrassed. He was such an adorable man for someone so muscular and serious. She even knew that he was great with kids since that time when she'd bumped into him at Water 7 with the three babies. She'd even noticed him running around the city with two boys. She'd taken the time to enjoy the sight since she'd finally known she would never have to leave the crew, or the adorably clueless swordsman. The day that the rest of the crew had saved her seemed so long ago now, and she'd never wanted to give up on her life or her dream since.

Zoro reached five hundred and lifted his left hand off the floor, slowing regaining the relaxed feeling he always felt while the two of them shared their usual comfortable silence in the crow's nest at night. Even if she'd made her feelings clear to him, things shouldn't be awkward between them. He was glad things hadn't changed. He watched as she closed her book and stood up. She smiled back at him, causing him to look away as he continued his one-handed vertical push ups. She closed the space between them and knelt down, only half a meter away from him. She leant forward, turning his head to face her and placed a sweet, gentle kiss on his upside down lips, before getting back up and leaving.

She'd just kissed him. Nico Robin had just kissed him. His face flared as he stayed, completely motionless, in his stunned state. She liked him; maybe it wasn't just a stupid crush?! She actually liked him too! Wait, he'd told her that what had happened between him and Law had meant nothing and that it was just 'a little stress relief' – what if that was what she was offering? Maybe she just fancied some fun as well? He couldn't do that with her; Ero-Cook and Law were one thing, but he couldn't have that with Robin. He couldn't remain emotionless and indifferent with her, not her. He cared too much for her.

* * *

><p>Zoro waited impatiently in the crow's nest, for the second morning in a row, for the Cook to appear to make the breakfast. Sure enough, Ero-Cook eventually appeared, a very slight limp to his walk as he came up from below deck to head to the ship's kitchen. Zoro smirked – he could make the damn Cook a lot worse than that. Law only got away with it since he could displace the area that was sore, Ero-Cook on the other hand had to make up excuses like he'd tripped coming down the stairs or fallen out of his bed to explain the limps that Zoro gave him. That was the only thing that Ero-Cook complained about – the damn limping. Zoro made damn sure it was obvious, even in the dim morning light.<p>

Zoro smugly made his way to the kitchen. Once there, he glanced over the stiff body of the Cook leaning over the breakfast. He silently made his way over to the unsuspecting Cook, keeping himself unnoticeable, unlike the previous morning, and _spanked _the other man's ass, the other man giving a very pleasing angry shout. Sanji turned and glared at Marimo, who stood looking annoyingly smug with his arms folded across his chest. He rubbed his ass, tempted to go to the bathroom to see if a damn handprint had appeared. He'd been sore enough without Marimo doing that! Marimo usually made him sorer than Law ever managed, but to Sanji that seemed likely to be due to Law being used to making love to women – not men. Unlike the damn brute in front of him who was a rough bastard that probably hadn't even touched a woman in his life, never mind having had _sex_ with her. He didn't 'make love' – that was too damn sappy.

"Morning Marimo," he grumbled, turning back to breakfast. He had better things to do than start a fight in his own kitchen.

"Morning Ero-Cook. Sleep well?" He grinned, stepping forward to do his usual action of wrapping his arms around Sanji.

"I slept perfectly fine, Marimo. I'd like to know what you think you're doing though. Don't expect to insult me in my own kitchen one day and then have me do whatever you want me to the next – it doesn't work like that. Now get off, I'm trying to cook." Zoro released his grip and went to sit at the table.

"Force of habit. Just wanted your opinion on something, that's all. That damn woman came up to the crow's nest last night while I was training – " He started, polishing one of his katanas with a cloth he kept in his tunic.

"So? Robin-chwan regularly wastes her time trying to keep you company. She feels sorry for you since you're always so grumpy and keep yourself back from the damn crew." He stated, cutting in. "Or are you going to ask a stupid question because you actually took my advice yesterday about speaking to her and need help with interpretation?"

" – What was unusual was what she did after she finished her book. She kissed me, Ero-Cook." He finished, not bothering to turn around upon hearing the Cook stop completely.

"Robin-chwan...kissed you? Marimo, this better not be some sort of joke, because if it is, it's not funny." He turned to look at the back of Zoro's head.

"I'm being serious. Nico Robin kissed me, on the lips, while I was training. I was doing one-handed vertical push ups and she just knelt down beside me and kissed me. I don't know what to think, Ero-Cook; does she like me or does she just want something like what she knows is happening between Law and me? I can't have that with her, Ero-Cook, you know that." He turned to meet with Sanji's blue-grey eyes, a pleading look in his own.

"Eeeh? There's no way Robin-chwan would kiss you, Marimo! Are you sure she didn't mean to just kiss your cheek? Even that seems too much!? Stupid-Swordsman, that isn't funny!" Despair, anger and frustration visibly passed across the whole of Sanji's body.

"Oi! You're not helping, Shitty-Cook! I don't know what to do! Look, help me with this and I'll talk to Luffy!? But you have to talk to Nami yourself, you got it?!" Zoro yelled back.

"Hey guys. What are you arguing about this morning?" Usoppe walked into the kitchen and settled himself at the table to wait for breakfast, counting his seeds.

"NOTHING!" They both simultaneously yelled at him.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed it! ^_^ Part of me wishes it was Ch9 going up today, but you'll have to wait for that! ;P I have a random little Zorobin drabble for this Sunday...the things that come into your head when you're ripping apart a pheasant (I'd say it was part of a line up and every shot made it to the target! Poor bird...) and listening to Seether...anyway, sketches are still a little behind – sorry! Hope you're enjoying the story anyway! ^_^<strong>

**Sketches:**

· **Chapter 1 – Cover Photo**

· **Chapter 2 – Zoro & Robin / Law & Zoro. Both sketches are them on the deck!**

· **Chapter 3 – Robin & Brooke**

· **Chapter 4 – Zoro lifting weights**

**(#TheLifeoftheFirstMate)**


	5. Chapter 5 - Being First Mate

**AN: One Piece belong to Eiichiro Oda! ^_^**

**So, here's a surprise update for you! ^_^ It's been a long time since I wrote 'From Amongst the Rafters', and can I just say thank you so much to everyone who's read/reviewed/followed/favourited my stories and one-shots (or even me – genuinely honoured!), or even just messaged me for a chat, these last five and a half months! XD I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year! ^_^**

(Feel the urge to add 'I promise this story isn't just constant sex and flirting!' That would be a really repetitive ~30 chapters :P )

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><p><strong>Chapter Five – Being First Mate<strong>

Zoro sat in the warm bath with his eye closed, the water reaching halfway up his defined chest, his mind trying to make sense of the last few days. Robin had helped him out with the spare room without him asking and then kissed him on the cheek, and then she'd walked in on him and Law having sex in the bed that she'd helped him set up. Then of course, he'd confronted her and ended up telling her to forget what she'd seen because what he had with Law meant nothing, and then of course while he'd been training during night watch, she'd kissed him.

To top it all off, he'd asked Ero-Cook to help him figure this all out, and in return he'd talk to Luffy. Yip, he'd talk to Luffy...who didn't know the first thing about 'the birds and the bees' – how do you talk a guy into allowing romantic relationships with crewmates when he doesn't know the first thing about sex? Their Captain probably hadn't felt _sexual_ desire once in his entire life. Food was another matter entirely.

Zoro sighed and slipped deeper into the water, laying his head against the cold white porcelain, only his shoulders escaping the water as his arms stretched along the top of the bath. He heard the bathroom door open and close as he lay there naked, covered only by the small clouds of white bubbles left from the vigorous rubbing he'd given himself with the soap. There wasn't really enough to hide his body, but he wasn't exactly shy when it came to the others and it wasn't as if they'd hang around in case he shouted at them. He might have been a little annoyed if it had been Law, but as he'd left just after lunch, it couldn't be him. Chopper would have apologised by now, and normally the others would have asked how long he was going to be before leaving.

A frown formed on his face.

He heard someone cross the room towards him from the sink. Why hadn't they said anything yet? Did they think he was asleep? He felt someone slip into the opposite end of the bath by his legs and slowly start making their way up his body. He knew instantly who it was. He felt a soft finger glide up the underside of his dick and circle the tip teasingly before jumping to the base of his abs. It slowly moved up the centre of his body before becoming a hand to cup the side of his face.

He felt soft lips brush against his before they started to move delicately along his jaw towards his ear. He felt teeth nibbling on his earlobe, tugging on his earrings, before making their way down his neck to his collarbone, nipping slightly at his skin as they moved across him. The lips met his again as a hand began to explore his lower body.

A smirk spread across Zoro's lips as he started to tenderly kiss the other man back. They hadn't had fun in the bath for a while. He pulled the other man down on top of him, deepening the kiss and allowing full body contact between the two of them. He felt Ero-Cook slide up his body and wrap his strong long legs around his waist, not breaking their increasingly passionate kiss. Zoro effortlessly lifted Ero-Cook's hips to position his lover's entrance above his tip. He slowly slid Ero-Cook down onto him. Damn this felt good, and even better knowing how much torture he was putting Ero-Cook through by moving him so slowly down his bulging erect dick. Sanji's long thin fingers made their way into Zoro's hair as the pleasure hit him.

He deepened the kiss further, starting to move his hips, the two men easily finding their rhythm. Sanji started to moan hungrily into Zoro's demanding mouth as they continued, the feeling becoming irresistibly intense. The green haired man under him had started to massage his shaft, encouraging him to find his release. His body began to tense as he felt himself coming close, Zoro's movements making him reach his breaking point faster than he wanted.

He shuddered as he climaxed into the bath water as Zoro continued thrusting deep inside of him. He lay helpless on top of the swordsman, enjoying the continuing actions. Zoro suddenly became tense under him just before Sanji felt hot liquid being released inside of him. Sanji raised his torso off of the other man lazily and planted a gentle kiss on his lips before getting out of the water to dry himself.

Zoro watched Sanji getting dressed, wondering what had prompted the Cook to interrupt his bath. As amazing as sex in the bath felt, Sanji usually decided that it was too risky since anyone could just walk in on them. Zoro grinned as he watched the Cook check his appearance before leaving the bathroom as if nothing had happened. Greedy bastard – Law last night, him today!? Zoro shook his head at the man before getting out of the cold water to start getting dried and dressed in the hopes of finding time for another nap before dinner: he was on night watch again.

* * *

><p>Right, there she is. She's sitting only a few meters away, he could do this. He was upside down with a couple of tonnes balanced on his feet, but he could do this. He could talk to her about last night. He could talk to her about the kiss. He could definitely ask what kind of relationship she was looking for. Maybe not. She hadn't said or done anything out of the ordinary all day, and here she was, sitting reading her book as normal while he trained. Maybe she'd worked out how he felt and had been teasing him, or maybe she'd just been curious. Yeah, she'd just been curious, she's a curious person.<p>

He watched as she elegantly yawned and placed a bookmark inside her book before closing it. She looked across at him and stood up, smiling. She walked over and knelt beside him as she had done the previous night and he waited longingly to feel her perfect, delicious lips against his once more as he closed his eye. Only that's not what he felt. He felt the waistband of his trousers move, along with a certain body part. His eye shot open, now seeing her leaning forward and felt her lips brush against him intimately.

"Ro-Robin...I can't. I can't have that sort of relationship with you. Please...just don't ask me to." He couldn't have the same kind of relationship with her as he had with Law and Ero-Cook, he just couldn't.

He had to set her straight now.

"Zoro-kun, I'm not quite sure what you mean, but I think you may have misunderstood." He looked up at her as she sat back again, probably looking very confused. "You tried to reassure me that what I had found the other night had meant nothing. I accept that. You are a man and you have needs. I only wish to be the one that fulfils those needs. You are above Nami-san as First Mate, and Luffy-san will listen to you as long as you bring the idea of a relationship to him before Nami-san finds out. If she finds out, then she'll make a fuss and Luffy-san will fear that the crew will break up. I'm sorry if it's too much responsibility for you, and I'm very sorry if I've misread you and you in fact do not return my feelings."

Before Zoro could recollect himself, Robin stood up, picking her book up, and made her way out of the crow's nest, once again leaving behind her a very stunned upside down swordsman. Zoro slowly became aware of his surroundings again, no idea of how long he'd been like that. He kicked the weights up into the air, righted himself and caught the weights in one hand, proceeding to lay them to the side with a cheesy grin on his face. He wasn't crazy! Robin wasn't just a stupid crush – she actually liked him back!

He grinned happily as he looked out of the window. He happened to glance down and realised that he was hanging out of his trousers. His face turned crimson as he realised what had happened and how he must have looked. He sorted his trousers and started cursing under his breath. Now he just had to decide if what _could_ happen between them was right, and if so he'd have to talk to Luffy, if not then he'd have to just tell Robin that she had in fact misunderstood him.

After sitting silently through breakfast, Zoro managed to find his bed with the help of a very confused Usoppe. He didn't want to talk to Ero-Cook right now, and anyway, if he asked the Cook to help him find his bed the whole crew would fall over in shock. Anyway, he knew Ero-Cook would tell him to go for it; he was completely biased, but Zoro couldn't be – it was part of his position. Why did they have to have an idiot for a Captain? The job of solving minor disputes on ships was always the duty of the First Mate, no matter who's the ship is, but in this case, Luffy would probably just agree with whatever he decided unless Nami was there to argue her point.

It was all down to what he decided. This one decision could be the destruction of the ship; if he said yes and it went wrong, Nakama could die, if he said no and Robin or Sanji got upset with him, they could leave, breaking up the crew or even cause severe damage to the ship in their 'annoyance' at him – they were both _very_ dangerous people. Zoro sighed and closed his eye as he lay alone in the dark room.

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><p>Throughout the day, Usoppe had been coming to check on the First Mate, everyone concerned at the fact he was asleep in his bed and not up on deck with them, napping. However, Usoppe was met with silence every time he tried to ask if the swordsman was alright. The swordsman was in fact not sleeping; he was just ignoring Usoppe while he tried to sort his thoughts. He'd even ignored his call to both lunch and dinner, but now he had to get up for night watch. Even if he was told someone else had been selected in his absence to do the night watch, he'd still do it. He'd had all day to think and he'd made his decision. It may not be what Robin and Ero-Cook wanted, but he'd made his decision.<p>

He made his way onto the lawn deck, being met by cheers from the crew, making it seem as if he'd just survived a life-threatening illness. Ero-Cook told him his meals were in the kitchen if he was hungry, but he'd better let him know in future if he planned to skip any meals since Zoro's lunch would be nowhere near as delicious as it would have been had it been fresh.

Zoro didn't even bother arguing with the Cook, he was more concerned with what he now had to do. He glanced over at Robin on his way to the kitchen, receiving one of her smiles in return. He found his lunch after a few minutes of searching and ate it quickly, not having realised just how hungry he was. He grabbed his dinner and started to make his way towards the crow's nest for the start of his shift.

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><p><strong>Hope everyone enjoyed that! ^_^ Not sure about how I wrote Robin in this chapter...I just couldn't get her quite right...:P So, as you may have read, I will be posting three times a week in the New Year, so I will have a posting day dedicated to One Piece! ^_^ I have three Zorobin stories written for you, and I've had a very interesting request that I'm going to work on over Christmas! ^_^ If anyone has anything they want me to try writing, just give me a heads up and I'll see what I can do! ^_^ I have a Sanami and a ZoroxSanji one-shots to post in the New Year ^_^<strong>

**_megaME, _****hope this chapter was ok for you! ^_^ Sorry it took so long! You'll have to wait a little longer to find out if Sanji ****_is_**** jealous, and of course, how much has he got to be jealous of now? Zoro seems to be doing pretty well for himself ;P**

**I've ordered a new cable so I should be able to upload the missing sketches after Christmas! ^_^ **

· **Chapter 1 – Cover Photo**

· **Chapter 2 – Zoro & Robin / Law & Zoro. Both sketches are them on the deck!**

· **Chapter 3 – Robin & Brooke**

· **Chapter 4 – Zoro lifting weights**

· **Chapter 5 – Robin sitting reading**

_All the current sketches can be found on my Facebook page ^_^_

**_Merīkurisumasu to happīnyūiyā!_**


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